There is a strong interest in avoiding accidents that arise when the vehicle is driven in reverse, for example by running over a pedestrian or bicyclist, or through a collision with a stationary object. German patent document DE 10 2009 052589 A1 concerns a system for monitoring and signaling a traffic situation in the surrounding environment of a vehicle that is equipped to warn another traffic participant situated in the surrounding environment of the vehicle, using a suitable arrangement, when a critical situation is present. An ultrasound system determines a critical situation when the home vehicle is for example in a semi-autonomous driving process, or in parking operation, and in addition at least one other traffic participant is present in the surrounding environment of the home vehicle. Given the presence of such a critical situation, optical signal devices such as warning blinkers of the vehicle, or acoustic signal devices such as the horn, can be set into operation in order to warn the traffic participant during reverse travel in the concrete risk situation.
German patent document DE 2009 029388 A1 concerns a method for supporting a driver during parking or when leaving a parking space. In situations in which an obstacle arises spontaneously, such as for example a pedestrian walking behind the vehicle that is to be parked in order to move from the street onto the sidewalk, the introduction of an emergency braking, or an outputting of a warning to the driver, is proposed, and risk-minimizing measures are carried out, such as an optical or acoustic warning, in order to protect the persons in the surrounding environment of the vehicle.
In the systems known from the existing art, it is disadvantageous that, in the case of the ultrasound systems, an object plausibilization first has to take place over a plurality of cycles until it is determined that an object at risk represents a potential collision object. During this time, valuable seconds are lost that could save the lives of at-risk traffic participants in the surrounding environment of the vehicle in some traffic situations.